Australia a Cashless Society? Not Bloody Likely!

Experts have predicted that Australia will be cashless by 2022. Even Singapore which planned a cashless society cannot do it completely. Non-cash buying has reached 69 per cent. It has remained there. People love money and sometimes they want to see it. If you take it away they will lose confidence in the currency. This is just common sense.

Has Singapore made major steps? Note, the world average for electronic purchasing is 66 percent of consumer spending. A pitiful 3 per cent is not a big step! While 79 per cent of Australians say that using mobile phones to make payments will be standard, most still have some cash in their pocket. What they say and what they do is not the same thing.

Purchasing electronically, then going to pick it up will be the norm say 81 per cent. Unfortunately, this is not sustainable. Most pre-purchasers go out to physical shops to view what they intend to buy, looking at variants and price. If four fifths of the population actually did pre-purchase, existing shops would not be there - they would be bankrupt.

Hardly any article overtly states the real reason why people will not let go of cash: individuals will not say it, but they want to avoid paying tax. Yes, it is simply tax avoidance that will keep cash alive, always. Hardly anyone keeps all their money in the bank. They know the tax department can access the real time data. You cannot hide anything that goes onto a record sheet. Business as well as consumers want cash. Why do shops ask if you want a receipt? If they don't issue a receipt the cash goes straight into the pocket!